Useless freestanding dinette table

The Sod Father · 08-01-2012, 07:48 AM

Not sure if everyone else is experiencing this, but the freestanding dinette in our bullet has a "feature" that allows you to lower it to coffee table height and thus place it in front of the sofa if you should chose to do so. The problem with this feature is that the mechanics of the system eliminate leg room. Any time anyone wants to move in or out of the U dinette, the whole table needs to shift. Even if it is just me and Mrs. Sod.

My plan is to remove the mechanism and convert it to a "post" type system - two posts that are press fit into flanges on the floor and the bottom of the table top.

Has anyone else done this mod? The dinette is in the slide so I suspect I will need to use coarse, short screws on the floor. Anyone see any other alternative or drawback to this mod? We never use the table outside and actually look forward to not having to "stow" the table when in transit.

Also, anyone interested in a gently used bi level table stand??

dutch101 · 08-04-2012, 04:19 AM

i would love to do that as well. that table is a pain, please let me know how you make out.

f6bits · 08-04-2012, 06:10 AM

I believe that “feature” is primarily to turn the dinette into a bed. I’d never thought of using it as a coffee table for the sofa. I’ve never stowed the table when traveling. It’s never moved during our travels.

However, the thought of doing your mod has crossed my mind since I’ve seen many trailers that have this setup. The snag I found is that many people find that this flange setup wobbles, and that’d drive me nuts.

If there were a more rigid flange design out there, I’d be all over it.

**JRTJH** · 08-04-2012, 07:03 AM

We have the same table. There are a couple of threads on here about the table top warping and not being very sturdy. Ours warped some, was replaced by Keystone, and warped again. It's not really noticeable with use, but when sitting in the recliners you can see the table "bow" in the middle.

I am still "amazed" at the sturdiness of this table. As part of the bed, it goes right where one "sits" when getting into bed and this puts all of the sleeper's weight right in the middle of the table. How that 5/8" of MDF manages not to crack still astounds me. We have some relatives that are definitely "weight challenged" who have sat right in the middle and even though you can watch the legs "turn red" when they sit on the bed, that table just manages to remain "the little engine that could" ROFLMAO

As for being "useless" we don't move the table around in the RV. I suppose in a trailer with opposing slides there may be enough room to put the table in front of the sofa, but in ours, it would only become a "shin biter" so we pretty much leave it at the dinette. We have, on a couple of occasions, moved the table outside under the awning to supplement the picnic table at the campground. While I don't think it would be a "deal breaker" not to be able to move it outside, it is a nice option to have. We don't seem to have the problems described earlier with having to move the table to get into or out of the dinette, so for us, it's just a table and I don't see any reason for us to want to modify it. Seems to work pretty good for us.

jcgib81 · 08-09-2012, 05:54 PM

I had the dealer convert my table to the standard 2 pole leg one. Works great.

chartrand · 08-11-2012, 04:02 PM

It's funny, but the trailer I'm looking at has the two post legs, and I'm looking to make the table free standing instead. But here you guys are looking to go just the opposite. What am I missing here?

f6bits · 08-11-2012, 05:08 PM

The freestanding one is pretty wobbly. Ours is *always* getting bumped at meal times and I’m always a nutcase as I watch our drinks splash around in their cups. And I only have one little one sitting at the table. Kid #2 is still too young to be a dinette-sitter.

ktmracer · 08-11-2012, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chartrand

It's funny, but the trailer I'm looking at has the two post legs, and I'm looking to make the table free standing instead. But here you guys are looking to go just the opposite. What am I missing here?

don't know. We have the free standing dinette/coffee table and love it. Yes it can be a tad wobly, but it is nice to move around to adjust for comfortable seating and has lots of space. IMHO it's not any more wobly than the two post leg removable ones, maybe even less.

**JRTJH** · 08-11-2012, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chartrand

It's funny, but the trailer I'm looking at has the two post legs, and I'm looking to make the table free standing instead. But here you guys are looking to go just the opposite. What am I missing here?

I'm not sure you are missing anything. There are a number of different ways to attach a dining table to the floor in an RV. All of them have their advantages and all of them have (in my opinion) some disadvantage depending on your requirements. The freestanding dining table works really well for us. We often use it outside to play cards (no cheating because nobody has to sit side by side) and we don't have any little ones, so we don't (or haven't yet) spilled drinks and haven't had a need to grab glasses to avoid a spill.

The tables that mount to the wall with a collapsable leg tend to tear out of the wall from use, the pedastel tables tend to wobble more than free standing tables if the floor is not thick enough to support the base properly, then there's the issue with two sharp tubes and where to store them to prevent kids (or clumbsy adults) from stubbing their toes or cutting their feet on the sharp ends at night.

The free standing tables are more complex to fold, but are easily transportable to use away from the dinette.

It's really a matter of personal choice, to each his (or her) own as no one type of table will satisfy every user all the time.

The Sod Father · 08-12-2012, 07:32 AM

Ours wobbles due to the fact that it sits on the edge of the slide threshold. The mechanism that allows you the ability to go from table to coffee table is large and bulky so knees are constantly bumping it causing drinks to spill. I have teens and their adult size legs need
more room than is afforded by the current base. We never collapse the table into "bed mode" so the posts make sense for us.

**JRTJH** · 08-12-2012, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Sod Father

Ours wobbles due to the fact that it sits on the edge of the slide threshold. The mechanism that allows you the ability to go from table to coffee table is large and bulky so knees are constantly bumping it causing drinks to spill. I have teens and their adult size legs need
more room than is afforded by the current base. We never collapse the table into "bed mode" so the posts make sense for us.

My experience with tables with the two posts is that they are not really that stable. As I said in an earlier post in this thread, unless the floor is thick enough to support the bases properly, the floor will flex and the table actually is more unstable than the folding table. If you never use your table in the "bed mode" you may be happier finding a proper sized table at Kmart, WalMart or another store and just replace your folding table with a conventional 4 legged dining table. You may want to actually sit in a trailer with a post type table (with your kids and DW) and see just how stable it really is. You may find that it's not that great. At least that's what we found when we last compared current models with our present trailer.

f6bits · 08-12-2012, 03:38 PM

My table has leveling feet, so I cranked the outside pair down a bit to compensate for the edge of the slide. I also re-attached the spring so it has more tension. This has helped, but it’s still not that rigid.

Devilishgrin11 · 08-25-2012, 05:15 PM

Hi I have a cougar xlite 31rks same issue re leg room I rotated the table top and reattached only 4 screws actually you are rotating the base

suza · 06-01-2013, 02:15 PM

I agree about the freestanding dinette table being a pain. The first time I tried sitting in the dinette (on the lot) and found how the legs were in the way, I decided the table and freestanding chairs were the better option. You can always buy a small table that can be used as a coffee table, outdoor table or for additional counter space while cooking.

warvalleywoodman · 06-01-2013, 05:41 PM

I too had this problem.
Our Bullet had posts but the location made it impossible for a full grown to slide in behind them
I just built a new table with a swing up extension and moved the the posts inward and out to give adequate leg room.
Made a floor extension that slid up under the carpet on the slide and glued and screwed it on the existing floor edge angle.
Also moved the leg sockets in towad the wall on the top which moved the table out further from the wall.
The formica is ordered from Lowes.

Ask questions if you need more help. warvalleywoodman

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